


break free (i'm stronger than i've been before)

by viceandvirtue



Series: prompt collection [16]
Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Aged-Up Sawada Tsunayoshi, But it's there, F/M, Female Sawada Tsunayoshi, I'm picking and choosing what I like from canon and moving on, Marriage Proposal, No Arcobaleno Curse (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!), Not Canon Compliant, Pre-Slash, Sky/Sky Bonding, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Timoteo isn't really a good mafia boss, he especially isn't a good father, not exactly what the prompter asked for
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2020-01-11 19:27:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18430562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/viceandvirtue/pseuds/viceandvirtue
Summary: Timoteo passed over his remaining children for someone more malleable to take his bloodied throne. His son and his presumptive heiress have other plans.





	break free (i'm stronger than i've been before)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Memorylane (Silvermags)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silvermags/gifts).
  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [Aoife_Prompt_Collection_KHR](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Aoife_Prompt_Collection_KHR) collection. 



> "Tsuna throws her Dying Will behind not becoming Decima Donna to the Vongola - someone finally listens and offers her everything she actually wants from life." - Anonymous prompt

Tsuna feels it when the bullet connects with her back, can feel her Dying Will surge up and consume her from the inside out. She makes a split second decision to throw her Dying Will behind what  _she_ wants. Not Reborn, not her father, and certainly not Nono. There's no relaxation of her muscles in preparation for the fight she's sure Reborn thinks is coming against the Ninth's second son. Because Timoteo wants her make it a show of force, wants her to  _bear her Will_ against the rightful heir and she  _refuses_.

" _No_ ," she howls. "No, Reborn, I  _won't_. I never wanted to _be_ here or _do_ this. Enough!" 

She can hear Reborn growling in her ear that she  _will_ , that she doesn't have a  _choice,_ can feel the iron in his grip as he clamps a hand on her shoulder. She's only put up token protest to Reborn until now, but today was pushing it too far and she was finally going to have her opinion be heard, and Reborn was going to  _listen_ for once in his life.

She only vaguely realizes that there's a foreign flame presence on the edge of her periphery and knows even without her Intuition prompting her that it must be Massimo. They'd been just on the edge of his property line when she had exploded, so she knew it would have drawn his attention. He has one fully Harmonized Guardian - a Lightning - and she aches at the feel of how lonely his flames feel without a full set of bonds, despite not having a full compliment herself. She only has Kyouya, her ever fierce Cloud, Mukuro and Chrome - the twins that follow her not for her position but for _her_. Two of six. It's not a good record, but Reborn had assured her that it would be an impressive one regardless - that Clouds and Mists were the hardest to pull in, the most difficult to Harmonize. But having Clouds and Mists for first Guardians also made it more difficult to find other Guardians, which Reborn had also cursed her for as the months and years dragged on.

"Sawada," Reborn hisses at her but she cuts across him and knows that were she not riding her Flames, she would never have the bravery to do this. She rips herself out from under his hand and spins to face him, a snarl of her own on display and that orange fire leaving a wispy trail in her wake.

"No! You listen to me, Reborn. I never wanted this. I never wanted the Mafia. I love my Guardians, but I don't want that life for them. The only thing I have ever wanted was to get married, have children, and then be left alone to run my household while my husband handled affairs. I have only ever wanted a family of my own making. Not Nono's blood-soaked Famiglia, and not my father's manipulation at every turn." She yanks the Heir Ring off her finger and shoves it in Reborn's chest. "I will only say this once more. _I. Don't. Want. This_."

She makes sure to put emphasis on every word and when she lets go of the Ring it drops to the grass at their feet. Reborn is looking at her with a different light in his eyes, and she's sure no one has ever talked to him like that before and left the situation unscathed. She hears a huff, something that could almost be considered a laugh and turn to look at the man standing across from them on the path that must be Massimo. He's tall, and broad across the shoulders - broader than even her father. Compared to the stature she inherited from her mother, he all but towers over her. The shock of his appearance is enough to let her drop out of the state induced by the bullet. 

Casual as anything, Massimo strolls up and plucks the Ring out of the grass and holds it up to eye-level. It looks even smaller in his large, calloused hands. "This was supposed to be my brother's Ring," he murmurs wistfully. "Do you really not want it?"

"I never wanted it," she says softly, and can just almost taste the grief that has saturated the air between them. "It's yours."

Massimo hums and slides the Ring in the pocket of his jacket. "Perhaps," he murmurs before looking her dead on. He doesn't bring his Flames to bear but she can feel the weight of his words. "We could get married. It would be acceptable to the wider Alliance and you wouldn't have to take on the Vongola. I could give you what you wanted, and more. We might not love each other now, but I'm certain we could in the future." 

Her hands tremble as she looks over Timoteo's second oldest son. He's handsome, sure, but she's sure he doesn't have to do this. He could just take the Ring and storm Vongola to take his rightful place on the throne that Tsuna has been dragged kicking and screaming to the foot of. But he's not only offering her a way out, he's offering her everything she's ever wanted. Sure, for the moment it's for political reasons but she thinks of his words and finds them true.

From what Tsuna's heard of Massimo he was the muscle to Enrico's Will, is the restraint to Federico's passion, and the calm to Xanxus's storm. She could come to love him. A small part of her thinks she already does. "Alright," she says, and her voice is trembling. She's just desperately hoping she's not about to start crying. "Let's get married.


End file.
